MINISTERS were expected to meet on Friday morning to finalise Jersey’s decision over the future provision of ferry services to the Island.
Jersey’s selection of a preferred candidate between rival bidders DFDS and Brittany Ferries follows crunch talks with both companies on Thursday in the wake of the shock announcement from Guernsey on Wednesday evening in favour of Brittany, the parent company of current provider Condor Ferries.
While Guernsey appeared to have lost patience and abandoned the two bailiwicks’ joint approach to selecting a new provider for ferry services from March 2025, ministers in Jersey were stressing the need to have all their remaining questions answered before making a decision in the best interest of the Island. Whether this would mean agreeing with Guernsey’s decision, or not, remains on a knife-edge.
Consideration of how freight and passengers will be transported until 2040 came amid mounting criticism of both governments, with many observers expressing disbelief at the way events had unfolded since Guernsey’s announcement at 6.30pm on Wednesday.
Robert Mackenzie, managing director of CI Travel, said: “It’s astonishing that having spent months supposedly working together on this tender, at the very last minute – literally the eleventh hour – Guernsey has ‘declared independence’ and gone out on their own, saying they are going with Brittany and that they’re leaving Jersey to make up their own mind.
“It smacks of incompetence and an inability to work together.”
Mr Mackenzie said that while it was difficult for those not privy to the details of the rival bids to appreciate the full picture, he had major doubts about the viability of separate services to the two bailiwicks should Jersey plump for Danish candidates DFDS.
“I don’t think it could work. I don’t think anyone believes you could have two operators serving one island each – it wouldn’t be sustainable, as well as having negative implications for the environment,” he said.
A spokesperson for DFDS said the company was absorbing the news about the Guernsey announcement and its implications. They added that they could not comment further at this stage, particularly while the Jersey process remained active.
Meanwhile, Christophe Mathieu, chief executive of Brittany Ferries and Condor Ferries, welcomed Guernsey’s decision, claiming that his company’s bid involved “the right ships, the right schedule and experience to support the Bailiwick [of Guernsey] in the long term”.
Mr Matthieu added: “We also look forward to the Government of Jersey joining us in this initiative.”
After the Jersey Chamber of Commerce warned about the negative implications of the continuing delay in reaching a decision for Island businesses and the visitor economy earlier this week, chief executive Murray Norton said yesterday he was disappointed that the alignment between Jersey and Guernsey had collapsed.
“It’s always unfortunate when the islands are perceived not to be working in step with each other, so this [announcement by Guernsey] took everyone by surprise,” he said. “The islands are better and stronger when they work together – most of Europe sees us as one entity, the Channel Islands, and it’s only inside the bubble where people approach it as two individual islands.”
Mr Norton said that while individual members of his organisation held differing views, the Chamber wanted the best outcome for Jersey.
“Ministers need to look at the best operator for this route, the one that can provide the best service and look 15 years into the future in terms of vessels, routes and financial stability.”
Several people had made comments to him about the Chamber’s perceived pro-DFDS stance, he added, while a similar number had criticised the organisation for its bias towards Brittany Ferries. “Maybe that means we are doing our job?” he observed.
Financial stability was one of the key themes in a memo sent by Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel to fellow States Members late on Wednesday.
“It is because we understand the importance of the stability of services that we need to be satisfied that the company that delivers them is financially sustainable and able to invest in a new decarbonised fleet, without placing excessive risk on the people of Jersey.”
The JEP understands that concerns about Condor’s financial position were behind the decision to provide financial support for the recent berthing trials carried out by DFDS.
The States of Guernsey jointly purchased a new ferry with Condor last year and loaned the company £26m to prevent an undisclosed “potential emergency” occurring.
It is also understood that the third company involved in the tender process at the outset, Irish Ferries, had moved out of contention some time ago, leaving a two-way fight for the 15-year contract.
In the aftermath of Guernsey’s announcement, Deputy Morel said there were remaining aspects of the rival bids on which ministers required clarification, and talks were held with both companies yesterday.
Ministers in Jersey were due to meet this morning to discuss the issue further, although it remained unclear whether an announcement would be made later today, or delayed further into next week.
One senior figure in government denied there had been anger resulting from Guernsey’s “go-it-alone” decision, but added: “There were a few raised eyebrows that they could not wait a bit longer, but that’s what happens in politics sometimes – there are calm heads here [in the government’s Broad Street offices] and we just need to ensure that we have all the information we need in order to make this important decision.”
There was controversy even before Guernsey’s shock announcement when a senior civil servant in Jersey was forced to step away from the selection process after indicating a preference for DFDS in a Facebook poll. Economy Department chief officer Richard Corrigan made an “inadvertent mistake” when he took part in a straw poll on the Condor Ferries User Group, the government said last week.
